Storm predictions like what we were warned about earlier in the week barely ever live up to their hype. I think sometimes it is because us upstate New Yorkers like to boast about how tough we are with regards to snow – and if not about our toughness, about everyone else’s weakness. What a great season for smirking as the Carolinas and DC got “our” snow and (in some people’s opinion) freaked out.

That's not a baby Yeti; its my grill

It wasn’t too bad in Greece yesterday…I went to work, out to dinner and came home around 9pm without slipping and sliding or seeing any cars in ditches. So I will admit I was skeptical about the hype. Now today all the schools are closed and Snow Day 2010 is truly in full effect. My boss is stuck out of state with his own snow day too. Not for me though, although with the buses off the roads hopefully I’ll have a somewhat easier trek in. If you have to go out, slow and steady wins the race of an intact car and safe arrival. Be careful out there.

I just found out (from one of his fellow officers) that Rochester Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio of Greece is an America’s Most Wanted All-Star Nominee for the week. You can go online and cast your vote for him to become a finalist. The winner of this voting period will be announced on America’s Most Wanted on March 6th.

From AMW’s website:America’s Most Wanted, television’s top crime-fighting show, is once again asking the public to give special recognition to police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first-responders who dedicate their lives to protect and serve.

When a stolen gun is pointed by a teenager to the head of a person going in to Denny’s on Ridge Road at 3am, it’s got to put a few questions in your head. What are these kids (well, I say kids- they ranged in age from 17-19) doing out so late in the first place? How’d they get a gun, and what possessed them to bring it to Denny’s? Why instigate something and pull the gun out? Of course that can all be rolled up into one question – what the heck are these people thinking?? And, is anyone else responsible for these actions besides the people performing them?

I say no, people are responsible for their own actions. However, parents do have a responsibility to their children to not just keep an eye on them, but teach them right and wrong and the consequence of actions. If they don’t, the consequence both on and from society can be pretty big. From what I see on Channel 13′s website, the four perpetrators are not Greece residents, not that that makes any of it any better.

I don’t know how many of you saw this article which included information about an immigration reform tour making its way around the state. The article centered on Sodus but did mention that the tour stopped in Greece. I happened to be driving in the parking lot of Representative Christopher Lee’s office as the “rally” took place on Ridge Road.

There was quite the crew breaking out into song and eliciting honks from passing cars. But it wasn’t a protest against anything other than the inaction to create a bill on comprehensive immigration reform (to allow undocumented immigrants channels to become legal and give other due process rights. You can check out a link here, and the tour’s website here.

Anyways, the group consisted of people on the tour as well as locals. And some groups joined in the cause as well. A LGBT group Out4Immigration was handing out buttons and the Raging Grannies shook signs with the best of them. From what I hear from Jessi Jaramillo, (the grassroots organizer), the group did get a chance to meet with Reps Lee and Massa later in the day.

Immigration reform seemed to be a hotter topic before the economy woes took over a lot of press. The tour’s goal was to get their agenda off the back burner, which made me wonder where we all stand on the issue. I wouldn’t want to reward someone who enters the country illegally with an easy process to become legal, but I don’t mind if anyone wants to (legally) come to our country, work, and contribute to our society.

Ever since Saturday morning I have been starting and discarding blogs. Wanting to write about Hunter Resch and at the same absolutely NOT wanting to write about him. I feel like I ought to, because this happened in Greece and is obviously a Big Story. But, Hunter is much much more than a story. He was a child in our community, with family and friends that are left with bewilderment and a lot of grief.

I don’t know how a parent can take the life of their child. I can only assume that no matter what “why” is given, on another level there is a mental illness driving the reason for the “why”. This doesn’t give absolution, but it does give me pause before causing the family left behind any additional pain with harsh words regarding the people/systems involved.

Most of us are, for lack of a better phrase, sympathetic spectators to everything going on. I know how sad I feel, and I am pretty well removed from the actual situation. I have had the opportunity to talk with friends of Hunter’s mom (her being a mutual friend) and there are really no words able to articulate even their sorrow, let alone Sue’s. Please join me and the rest of Greece in sending prayers to Hunter’s family. You can read Hunter’s obituary here.

One of the places that I truly enjoy visiting is the Rochester Public Market. Every Saturday I meet up with my brother-in-law and nephew. We walk the vendors to get fruits and veggies, indulge in some cookies, and always end our day at the cheese shop, where we eat egg bagel sandwiches and bring home cheeses, olives and quite frankly the best olive oil ever, cultivated by the shop owners once a year in Italy and brought back to Rochester. The owners of the store (VM Giordano Import Inc is the official name, although everyone I know just calls it “The Cheese Shop”) are Greece residents, which is pretty cool. They are open on Thursdays and Saturdays year round so stop in and say hello if you find yourself over on North Union.

Last year I blogged about how the Greece Athena Middle School Theatre supported the youth programs of Gilda’s Club of Rochester by donating part of the ticket sales from their February/March performances. This year, the Theatre is performing “Oliver”. Our former Greece Blogger Petrena Hayes let me in on the fact that this year the theatre has a chance to break the $300,000 threshold in terms of amounts raised and donated to local children’s charities. Since 1996 they’ve raised over $275k, so the goal to bridge the gap to $300k is obtainable, especially if we as a community help support the musical and everyone working on it. And it’s not just the cast of 200 – we’ve got 100 students backstage, not to mention many family members volunteering their time. As Petrena says, “They are sewing over 200 costumes! They’re saints!”

The cast is also once again taking part in the Mall Walk for Gilda’s Club, which is this Sunday, the 7th. They will be performing scenes there, but you can also see the performance on the following dates (tickets are available at Wegmans for $9):
Feb 26th at 7:30 p.m.
Feb 27th at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.
March 5th at 7:30 p.m.
March 6th at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.

Did you hear about that business in Pittsford that taught firearm safety certification classes without being licensed to do so? Now the owner is in legal trouble for that as well as filing fraudulent papers regarding the class, and the people who took the class are out of their money and their “certification” – which can and has jeopardized their careers. Of course, the owner of the company (oh and let’s not forget the media – thanks channel 10 [link]!) found a way to throw some blame on Greece! Looks like one of our disgraced (and now incarcerated) police officers, Nick Joseph, was supposed to teach the class, and once he went away to jail, the owner didn’t have a licensed instructor. Instead of, you know, cancelling the class or referring them elsewhere, the owner decided to teach the class himself and then file false papers. So, where do you think the fault lies?

Caurie Putnam covers Greece and the rest of the west-side as the "West Extra" columnist for Our Towns. She is a proud west-side resident of two little boys who is in Greece often for yoga at Breathe, skate sharpening at Locker Room Sports, hockey games at Lakeshore, and much more. To share upcoming Greece events and items of interest with Caurie please email her at caurie@urgrad.rochester.edu or contact her on Twitter @CauriePutnam